Artist Spotlight: Switch Hustle Records
Switch Hustle Records are a North London based trio who recently released a 5 track EP entitled "The Foundation". Having met at school the producers, AnaNsi.Kwam, Cosy & Tony, write and put together a collection of sick beats to feature with various up and coming artists which is something we at The Pit LDN are all for.
The new EP features the likes of Dion D’Lucia, Brownsilla, Coah and Yasmin with tracks inspired by various genres such as UK Hip Hop, Garage and Afrobeats. A quick review of each of the tracks and a few questions with the group should tell you all you need to know to start following their work.
Starting off with a total summer banger, City Love, which features almost haunting vocals by the likes of Brownsilla & Dion D’Lucia. The spacey, modern keys between, riffs and hats make for a sultry summer vibe.
Selfish, featured as both original and remix on the EP, is my personal fave without a doubt. Coah hits us with a faultless harmony of romance and reality. Production wise the beat gives me that insane euphoric feeling of being in love with no messy breakup. Looking for a summer fling with zero commitment? Have it with this track. Fancy more than one fling? Check out the the remix. Classic 90’s garage vibes and fast beats contrast drastically from that spine tingling original. Put it this way, I can listen to this highly relatable track in its original form and have a lonely cry, or the remix and dance about in my room. Who could ask for more? Practical. Relatable. Versatile. More than any relationship I’ve ever had!
Japanese influences in the track Eyes. The stompy hatty beat with both attitude and tranquility consecutively is a really stand out track on the EP. Very powerful and unique sounds.
Another fave Monster, featuring Dion D’Lucia appeals to my inner Trap hoe. This afro inspired beat with deep, character filled vocals, bars left right and centre. This is a song to get dirty to if I ever heard one.
I got to catch up with the guys and ask a few questions about their work and the future of Switch Hustle.
So with the first EP out now, congrats. As you have so many collabs with various artists that usually adds on production time, how long did the project take you?
We began the project around August 2017, but it was a case where we had been producing all these beats & didn’t really know what we wanted to do with them. Loads of people were telling us to just sell them but then we thought that it would be cool if we found people to jump on the tracks. We probably had around 10 that could have possibly been on the EP but we narrowed it down to 5. Once all the beats were ready, we reached out for each vocalist to come & record.
And what are the deciding factors in who you choose to collab with? Is there something in particular you look for?
We try to look for people that don’t really fit the mould for what's out there, that something about them. The cool thing about artists bringing their own styles & their own vibes is the tracks usually come out sounding completely different to how we envisioned them, but then when you listen, it just works.
What about a dream collab, Anyone in the world who would it be?
We always argue who we would like because each of us have our own views so if we could pick one each they would be:
anaNsi.Kwam - Giggs
Cosy - Sampha
Tony - Kanye West
Also I hear you guys all met at school. Do you think that improves your trio, in the sense that you are all on the same wave? Or would you say your differences are what influence the varying genres covered?
Yeah it definitely improves us, because we know each other well, we aren’t afraid to let each other know when something doesn’t sound good. We all listen to a lot of the same music, but have different artists that we individually listen to, which also allows us to experiment more with our sound.
And whats the next move for Switch Hustle, what can we expect and when?
We are always making new material & have started on the 2nd project. We will continue to look for new artists to bring their own sauce & look out for a few in-house tracks we have lined up.
Thank you so much for having a chat with me guys, I can't wait to see what's out next.
To all my readers, don’t forget to give Switch Hustle Records a follow on Soundcloud and socials to keep tabs on future projects. You will be able to find all the tracks listed on my ‘REVIEWED BY ME’ playlist on Soundcloud.
Follow Switch Hustle Records:
www.soundcloud.com/switchhustlerecords
www.instagram.com/switchhustlegram